Military forces have managed to take the remaining strongholds of al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab in the far northeast of the Somali capital , Mogadishu , the military said .

`` In effect , operations will now focus on the environs of the city and policing within the liberated areas , '' the African Union Mission in Somalia -LRB- AMISOM -RRB- said in a statement , adding that its troops worked with Transitional Federal Government forces .

`` Our joint operations have gone extremely well today and over the weekend , '' AMISOM spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said . `` Casualties have been thankfully very low on our side , with just one killed and six minor injuries . The outer north and eastern fringes of the city must still be cleared , but key ground and buildings are no longer under the control of the extremists . ''

`` It has been a big achievement to remove Al-Shabaab from the city , and put an end to the fighting that disrupted so many lives . But the challenge is now to protect civilians from the sort of terror attack we saw last week , as they attempt to rebuild their lives . ''

Last week Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide truck bombing in the heart of Mogadishu that left dozens dead .

Other Al-Shabaab attacks last week led to the deaths of at least 10 civilians .

Al-Shabaab was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008 . The group is waging a war against Somalia 's government to implement a stricter form of Islamic law , or Sharia .

Federal and African Union forces in the impoverished and chaotic nation have battled the group for years . Many analysts believe Al-Shabaab has been severely weakened by AMISOM , targeted strikes against foreign members and the weakening of al Qaeda .

Al-Shabaab said in August that it was withdrawing from Mogadishu , and the Transitional Federal Government , backed by African Union peacekeepers , now control most districts of the capital city , the United Nations office said .

Forces have pushed Al-Shabaab outside most of Mogadishu , but the group is still a major threat , said African Union forces spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Nkunda in a statement last week .

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Military forces say they have taken strongholds in northeastern Mogadishu

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The military cites `` a big achievement ''

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Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack last week that killed dozens